The completion of the seemingly eternal Michael Essien saga prompted the Ghanian to inform the British media that he was overpriced at £25m before he had even kicked a ball for his new club. Lyon President Jean-Michael Aulas managed to more than double the initial Chelsea offer of £10m, highlighting the problems that Chelsea's millions have brought them.
On the one hand, the Blues can outbid any club in the land thus assuring them first refusal for any player they wish to purchase. But Roman Abramovich's virtually unlimited wealth also means that clubs know that they can hold Chelsea to ransom when they really want a player. This seems to be the case with Essien, and was certainly the case with Didier Drogba.
The Ivory Coast international moved for the princely sum of £24m last year and promptly began failing to live up to the expectation his transfer fee created. Yes, Drogba had had a phenomenal season for Marseille, proving himself capable of performing against some of Europe's finest sides. But the adage extolling the differences between form and class are surely relevant here; only three years prior to his transfer, Drogba had been plying his trade for Guingamp, a small town team in Northern France.
His dramatic rise to prominence seemed to know no bounds, and it almost seems to be unparalleled for one who has effectively had one good season in what is a widely regarded as a weak French league. His performances in Europe helped to create the impression of a player able to produce regularly at the highest level, but it is clear Chelsea fans are questioning the wisdom of the sizeable fee.
Sunday's 1-0 win over Arsenal highlighted the question marks over Drogba. Having found himself in space inside the Gunners' penalty area, he smashed the ball high into the stand and his momentum took him toward the Chelsea supporters at the old Shed End. There seemed to be a few choice words exchanged between Drogba and the Chelsea fans, which the striker later dismissed as "nothing."
Nevertheless, it was an astonishing sight to see the club's, until very recently, record signing treated in such way. Drogba's petulance knows no bounds, as is evident from his almost constant discussions with the ref, and upon scoring probably the most fortuitous goal in Premiership history, he felt it right to go the same fans who had admonished him minutes earlier. How he thinks miscontrolling the ball into the net is going to prove his worth to the Stamford Bridge faithful is beyond me.
There was a beautiful moment in the second half of that game that illustrated the gulf in ability between Drogba and the genuinely talented Thierry Henry. A long ball forward found Henry in the area, and a sublime first touch created a shooting opportunity out of nothing which, admittedly, he was unable to take. Drogba received almost an identical pass moments later, but he touch let him down and he bullied his way forward for a corner without ever controlling the ball. And Henry's transfer fee was less than half of Drogba's.
Which brings us to Michael Essien. His performances for Lyon were inspirational and he was undoubtedly a key figure in their run to the semi-finals of last season's Champions League. He has already done something worthwhile for Chelsea by eliminating the embarrassment of Drogba being the club's record buy. At 22, he has considerable potential, but he has achieved little beyond one promising season for Lyon, and Chelsea fans must hope that he does not stutter in the same way Drogba has.
Also sitting on the Chelsea bench was the comparatively cheap Shaun Wright-Phillips. The Englishman has proven Premiership form in a largely disappointing Manchester City side, and his £21m fee was certainly inflated because he is from these shores. It remains to be seen how much action he sees under Jose Mourinho's rotation policy, but he will be of little use to England's 2006 World Cup efforts if he continues to be behind Damien Duff and Arjen Robben in the pecking order.
Football transfers are a crazy business, especially when Chelsea are involved. In a week when Fulham cut their losses and let the stupendously overpriced Steve Marlet go to Wolfsburg on a free transfer, four years after paying £11.5m for him, another striker cannot find a way out of his present malaise.
Any discerning football fan could name ten overpriced footballers off the top of their heads, every club has one, but it seems astonishing that Europe's top clubs seem to think Michael Owen would be on that list. Owen's agents have offered the England international's services to just about every English outfit except my local Sunday team, and yet no club has snapped up the chance to sign the Real Madrid player for around £10m.
In today's market, £10m represents a bargain for a former European Footballer of the Year who is still only 25, and it is even more surprising when you consider the options of the top English clubs. Arsenal have Henry, but little in the way of support for the Frenchman in the promising Robin van Persie and squeezing one more season out of Dennis Bergkamp.
Manchester United's lack of goals cost them dearly last season, and it makes sense to many observers to dispense with Louis Saha to create squad space for Owen. Rooney has operated wide for United many times in Sir Alex Ferguson's new system, and can therefore accommodate Owen in a front six that could theoretically also include van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo, Keane and Scholes.
Liverpool would perhaps be Owen's first choice, but Rafael Benitez has once again reiterated that he is not interested in signing Owen. Newcastle manager Graeme Souness has clearly forgotten his medication if he realistically thinks Owen will go to St James' Park, which brings us to Chelsea.
Chelsea have bid for practically every top striker in Europe with little success, and it seems amazing that they have not come in for Owen, even as an afterthought. A £10m investment in Owen can at worst be described as an improvement in the options available to Mourinho. But there has been no hint of interest, leaving Owen in the wilderness at Madrid, while Drogba grabs the headlines in the biggest Premiership game of the season so far. Jimmy Greaves was right.